1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording apparatus, recording method, reproduction apparatus, reproduction method, recording and reproduction apparatus, recording and reproduction method, image capturing and recording apparatus, and image capturing and recording method, suitable for application when recording data across a plurality of recording media and for reproducing recorded data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, image capturing and recording apparatuses have included apparatuses which have recorded to semiconductor memory, in a predetermined format, video data (moving images) and audio data (sound) captured by a digital video camera or other image capture apparatus. In the case of compressing and recording video data captured using an image capture apparatus, two methods, which are an intra-codec method and an inter-codec method, have been used. The intra-codec method is a method of performing compression of one captured frame at a time as still images. On the other hand, the inter-codec method is a method of extracting and separating the image on which one frame is based (the I picture) and difference information from the base image over a plurality of frames (P pictures, B pictures) before compression. Here, the collection of frames of the I picture, P pictures, and B pictures is called a GOP (Group Of Pictures). Video data compressed using either method is recorded as a file.
In recent years on the Internet, SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) has come to be used as a language for use in rearranging video, audio, text, graphics, and other multimedia materials, in space and in time, to prepare new content. In the following explanation, both video and audio, or either one, may be called “AV” (audio-visual) materials. Further, reproduction procedure information which lists places for reproduction of a plurality of AV materials is called an “EditList”. An EditList may also be called a playlist or non-destructive editing description data. Further, a unit of AV data of arbitrary length is called a “clip” (material). A “clip” may also mean AV material configured as a single file. An interval of predetermined length can be extracted from a clip to prepare another clip, or a clip can be divided for use as a divided clip (or divided material).
In recent years, information relating to video, audio, and other content has been handled as metadata, and standardization has been promoted for international unification of metadata among broadcasting stations. In order to standardize the format for metadata, specifications for different metadata items have been proposed. Metadata items include, for example, the UMID (Unique Material Identifier) formulated by the SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers). A UMID provides unique IDs for identifying each piece of content, and is a 32-byte data item enabling GPS (Global Positioning System) information, date and time, country name, region, company name, and other information to be added, if necessary.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-309503 (JP 2005-309503 A) discloses technology in which, in the case of dividing timewise-continuous data for recording onto a plurality of recording media (optical discs), history information including identifiers for mounted recording media is caused to be contained in multiplexed information and written back to the recording media, so that the recording media preceding the recording media can easily be identified.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication, No. 2005-309504 (JP 2005-309504 A) discloses technology in which, the recording media in the technology disclosed in JP 2005-309503 A is data.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-328073 (JP 2004-328073 A) discloses technology in which, in the case of dividing timewise-continuous video data and writing the divided video data to two recording media, the two are associated. Specifically, there are 1) technology for associating filenames (for example, suffixes) (for example, DSCF0001A.AVI and DSCF0001B.AVI, and similar); 2) technology for writing mutual reference file names to user areas within Exif files or AVI files; and 3) technology for providing, on the respective recording media, information files indicating the relation therebetween.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-328034 (JP 2005-328034 A) discloses technology in which, even in the case where timewise-continuous video data is divided into divided data and recorded with different filenames in a plurality of recording media, the video data can be reproduced as a single data entity, by appending and recording video file relation information on a video data file positioned after a timewise earlier video data file. Specifically, link information, containing the filename and similar of the following video file, is recorded as an independent text data file together with the first-half video data file.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H11-341434 (JP H11-341434 A) discloses technology in which, in order to facilitate handling during editing or to enhance the non-destructive properties of data, continuous video data is divided based on a predetermined time period or data amount, and is recorded as files. However, as technology for associating divided files, “previous file” information and “next file” information should be provided in the header portion of each divided file.